Sunday, March 27, 2016

The following
contribution is from Seattle-based independent journalist, David Malekar; who regularly publishes content to the
WashCo Chronicle and other online publications. The
interviewee, Paul Addis, is the Lt. Governor Candidate for Washington State. Paul has been featured on the Washington Libertarian website.You can find more information on Paul at the website addis4lg.com

DM: Thank you Paul, for taking
the time out to address the people in this interview. First question
for you is, why? What's your motivation behind your campaign in 2016
for Lt. Governor?

PA: Thanks
for having me, David. My motivation for running for Lt. Governor is to
highlight, promote and support the growth of the Libertarian Party in
Washington State. What I mean is that, by running a campaign for public
office, I will have opportunities that wouldn't otherwise be available
to me. I have filed my intent to run with the Public Disclosure
Commission (PDC), but we are still a couple of months away from the
official ballot filing with the Secretary of State, and I have already
been mentioned in the Seattle Times, contacted by KING5 TV and invited
by the Key Peninsula Democrats to a panel discussion. This type of
publicity is not available to individuals and parties that don't run for
office. As well, a public campaign offers volunteers and supporters a
focal point for activity. In 2014, when I ran for State Representative
in Seattle, I began my campaign with only a few volunteers. By the end
of the campaign I had as many as 15 supporters canvasing precincts to
hand out my material. Those were people I hadn't even known when I
started the campaign, and they all signed up because they wanted to
support the platform and message. Without the campaign, they would have
had nowhere to do that in their legislative district. So, at the current
stage of development and growth of the Libertarian Party of Washington,
it is more important for me to assist that growth and development of
the supporter base than whether or not I win an election. The winning
will come as the base grows. We're putting one foot in front of the
other here in Washington, and the Libertarian Party campaigns of 2016
are the next step in a long term plan. That plan includes gaining
experience by electing leadership and running candidates, recruiting new
supporters and candidates, training activists and consistently
repeating those steps.

Paul Addis speaking at the 2014 LPWA convention

DM:Growing the party in Washington seems to be a key
focus. In your campaign, what are the biggest issues you want to tackle
or bring light to?

PA:The position I’m
running for, Lt. Governor, has a unique role to play, which is not as
directly legislative as most of the open positions such as State
Representative, State Senator, Governor US Congressional positions. Of
course, that is, unless the Governor can’t fulfill their duties and the
Lt. Governor would have to fill in for a time. The Lt. Governor’s main
duties include being President of the State Senate, as well as
appointing members to specific committees. As the Senate president, the
Lt. Governor helps decide which legislation moves to the floor for
debate. That role, along with appointing committee members, can best be
handled by a third party such as myself, due to the lack of allegiance
to either of the two main parties. My decisions would be made based on
libertarian principles, rather than party affiliation or favors owed to
big money interests. Which brings me to my biggest issue. I believe that
one of the greatest threats to the free market is the influence of
money in politics. In Washington, we had a piece of legislation a few
years ago where the legislature voted to give a tax break to Boeing, but
that legislation did not remove the tax burden for smaller aerospace
companies such as Hexcel. The result of that legislation was that
Hexcel, which competes with Boeing in some product lines, was no longer
competitive due to greater government-imposed overhead costs. Hexcel
couldn’t pay as high of wages, so Boeing could pick off the best workers
from Hexcel. Boeing could offer lower price points to customers. All of
this was the result of actions taken by the legislature, not natural
dynamics of the free market. This behavior makes the playing field
un-level for businesses. This is no isolated case, and many times it is
due to the attraction that this kind of power brings from companies and
industries that want unfair advantages and are willing to pay-to-play in
this crony capitalist game. That is why I do not take money from PACS,
corporations, unions, lobbyists or any special interest groups. I only
take donations from individuals. That decision is based on principle,
but I also bring it up often in my campaign to highlight the problem. It
is certainly an issue that most voters agree on from both sides of the
aisle. I’d also like to see some innovation in how we make healthcare
available. I think allowing social service funds (i.e. EBT Cards) to be
used for direct primary care fees would provide better service for those
in need at lower costs to the tax payer. It would be a step in the
right direction. I’m also a big proponent of giving families more
options when it comes to educating their kids. Along with a more
decentralized approach to education. I think direction is more important
than destination at this time, so I’m OK with anything that moves us
toward a more free-market based system. Other issues that I feel
strongly about include accountability of law enforcement and better
transportation solutions in Washington.

Paul Addis (right)
Volunteering at the Bread of Life Mission in Seattle.

DM: As Lt. Governor of Washington, what would be your first major action within office?

PA:My first
objective would be to get to know each of the legislators, especially in
the State Senate. One of the major roles of the Lt. Governor is to
appoint members to various committees. I believe that, in order to do
that effectively, I would need to build solid relationships with the
members of the Senate to assist my decision making on those matters.
Currently, the leaders in the largest caucuses send the Lt. Governor
recommendations for appointment to these committees. As I’ve mentioned
earlier, my decisions would be based on libertarian principles rather
than party affiliation. Whereas the current Senate is made up of members
from the Democratic and Republican parties, I would like to keep a fair
balance from both sides of the aisle, but with an eye toward their
history of voting and support for particular legislation. For example,
if a Republican or Democratic leader sent me a recommendation for a
potential committee member and that Senator had consistently voted in
favor of crony corporatist legislation such as the Boeing tax break, the
bill to increase taxes on certain parts of e-cigarette/vaping products,
or voted against the industrial hemp bill, I would have a difficult
time agreeing with that recommendation. In order to perform that
function properly, I believe it would be extremely important to build
relationships with as many Senators as possible so I could have better
firsthand knowledge to inform those decisions. As for the first
legislative action I would take, that would be dependent on what
legislation is brought forward. My role would be to lead parliamentary
discussion during the debate on the Senate floor.

DM: On the topic of "unnecessary taxes and regulations," which
ones do you plan on cutting or removing to help the common person and
small business thrive?

PA: There
has been an ongoing effort in Olympia to institute a state income tax
in Washington. First of all, that is one thing I would do my best to
avoid. I don’t believe there is any good reason to tax the medium of
exchange between two consenting parties that decide to trade for mutual
benefit. Income tax goes against the foundational principle of a free
society. As for current taxes, I would think the Business and
Occupational tax (B&O) would be some low hanging fruit. I don’t see
that there is any real benefit to the businesses that pay the tax. And I
believe there is some bi-partisan support for the elimination of the
B&O tax. I’d also like to see more of the gas tax spent on the roads
that are used by the people who pay the tax versus the projects that
only 2% of the people utilize. However, as Lieutenant Governor I would
be limited as to how I could directly affect that type of legislation.
My role would be more about facilitating legislative activity than
authoring or sponsoring actual legislation.

Paul Addis (center)
Speaking against non-judicial foreclosure
at the Capitol in Olympia in 2016.

DM: Paul, thank you for providing our readers with great insight
to your platform. I will be following up with you in a little while,
to update everyone on your campaign. In closing, what final thoughts
and last messages would you like to provide to everyone reading?

PA:Thanks again for
having me, David. I’d like to reiterate to your readers a couple of
things that are important to keep in mind about our current political
landscape. The first is to consider how crony corporatism, meaning big
money interests in politics, damages the foundation of a free society.
When certain organizations are allowed to pull the strings of our policy
makers, the natural and healthy dynamics of the free market are
severely mitigated. Free market capitalism has done more to liberate
oppressed people, mobilize individuals out of poverty and benefit
society in general than any government system ever could. When we allow
corporate interests to undermine that system we all lose. That is why it
is important to choose your politicians wisely. Lastly, I would like to
say that I believe the future health of the American political system
depends on having a viable third (and more) party. More options means
more competition. More competition means better choices for the
consumer. The duopoly that is the Republican and Democratic parties have
become too similar to allow the American voters a real choice in
elections. It’s time to vote for parties that ‘can’t win’ until they
start winning. You can be that change. It starts now, and it starts with
you.